“I don’t mean I’m returning to London. I’m merely leaving the ball for a while. I’ve found someone who wants me to take her home.”
“Her?” Sara said, curiosity getting the better of her. “I thought you didn’t know a soul in Derbyshire except Lord and Lady Dryden.”
He grinned. “I don’t. But when an intriguing widow asks me to take her home, I always agree.”
“Now, Jordan—” she warned.
“Can I help it if women find me devastating?” He nodded toward Gideon. “At least I’m not of your husband’s ilk, snatching her away against her will.”
Gideon glowered at him. “Look here, Blackmore, I’ve had just about enough of—”
“Hush, Gideon. Can’t you see he’s trying to irritate you?” Sara scowled at her brother. “As for you, if you don’t behave yourself, I’ll return to Atlantis before the baby is born, and you won’t get to see it for a year.”
Jordan eyed her suspiciously. “Lady Dryden wants to see the birth of her grandchild too badly to let you do that.”
“I’ll take her and his lordship with us. They’ve been longing to go back for a visit every since that first two weeks they spent on the island, after Gideon and I were married.” No need to tell him that Gideon would never allow her to travel by ship so close to the baby’s birth.
Jordan glared at her. “All right, I’ll attempt to be civil.” Then he glanced over his shoulder in the direction of the door, where a young woman stood, dressed in black bombazine. Jordan’s expression altered subtly. “I can be civil to anyone tonight, as long as I’m allowed to go home with that beauty.” Leaning closer to Sara, he whispered, “Good night, moppet, don’t wait up.” Then he turned and walked briskly back to the young woman.
He was scarcely out of earshot before Gideon exploded into laughter.
“What in heaven’s name is so funny?” Sara asked.
“Your brother, sweetheart, has vastly misconstrued that beauty’s intentions, unless I miss my guess. He’s about to receive a much deserved comeuppance.”
Sara stared at him quizzically.
His eyes shone with amusement through the slits in his mask. “I met that young lady earlier. Do you know who she is? The rector’s daughter, and no merry widow. She’s mourning her mother, not a husband. She came here with her cousin, who was dressed in a similar manner to your brother, and I’ll wager that when she asked him to take her home, she thought she was speaking to her cousin.”
“Bother it all!” Sara exclaimed and started to rush after Jordan.
But Gideon caught her arm. “Don’t you dare. He deserves a little humiliation after what he’s put us through, don’t you think?”
She hesitated, watching as her brother took the pretty young woman’s arm and led her out. She dragged Gideon onto the balcony to see what would happen. Her eyes narrowed as Jordan handed the woman up into the Blackmore carriage. A rector’s daughter? A sweet, dependable rector’s daughter?
She began to smile. “Perhaps a rector’s daughter is just the sort of woman my brother needs.”
“Are we speaking of the same man? The Earl of Blackmore, whom you’ve said yourself is a rakehell? I can’t even begin to imagine your brother married to a rector’s daughter.”
“Yes, but you have poor powers of imagination.” She turned away from the balcony to gaze fondly at him. “A year ago you wouldn’t have dreamed Barnaby would be happily married to a prostitute like Queenie and eagerly anticipating his first child. Or that grouchy old Silas would be capable of fathering twins and presiding over Atlantis in your absence. Or even that you yourself would be married to the stepsister of an earl. You wouldn’t have imagined any of that, would you?”
“No.” A smile touched his lips. “All right, you win. I suppose if a bloodthirsty pirate could find a decent woman, your brother could.” Without warning, he dragged her into his arms for a stunning kiss that left her swooning. When he drew back, his eyes were twinkling. “But if my few moments’ conversation with that rector’s daughter is any indication, your brother will have a fight on his hands.”
As a slow smile edged over her lips, she lifted her arms to pull him back into her embrace. “All the better. It’s like I’ve always said: the best women—and men—are the ones worth fighting for.”
Author’s Note
Although Gideon and Sara are my creations, the capture of the Chastity has a basis in history. In 1812, the Emu, carrying forty-nine convict women, was taken prisoner by an American privateer ship, the Holkar. The women were let off on St. Vincent and never heard from again, while the Holkar returned with its prize to America. A French pirate also captured a convict ship, although he released it when he found no booty.
As much as possible, my story reflects true conditions aboard convict ships in this period.
Atlantis is based on St. Helena and Ascension Island off the coast of Africa. The latter wasn’t inhabited until 1815, despite being located off a heavily traveled trade route.
About the Author
Who can resist a pirate story? Certainly not me. Despite being a happily married woman with a young son, I still have the occasional wild fantasy. This particular story has floated around in my mind ever since I read about an actual pirate capture of a convict women’s ship. No one recorded what actually happened in the historical account, but my imagination took its own course and presented me with this story. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.
Books by
Sabrina Jeffries
MARRIED TO THE VISCOUNT
DANCE OF SEDUCTION
AFTER THE ABDUCTION
A NOTORIOUS LOVE
A DANGEROUS LOVE
THE DANGEROUS LORD
THE FORBIDDEN LORD
THE PIRATE LORD
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
THE PIRATE LORD. Copyright © 2006 by Sabrina Jeffries. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
ePub edition September 2006 ISBN 9780061749353
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